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CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [1] CYL- 104 Cyber Crimes And Consumer Protection in Cyber Space School of Law UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY Teen Pani Bypass Road, Near Transport Nagar, Haldwani -263139 Phone No- 05946 - 261122, 261123 Toll Free No. 18001804025 Fax No.- 05946-264232, Email- [email protected], http://uou.ac.in Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [2] BOARD OF STUDIES Professor Girija Prasad Pande, Director, School of Law, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, Nainital. Professor J.S.Bisht, Faculty of Law,S.S. Jeena Campus, Almora,Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand. Professor B.P. Maithani, Former RTI Advisor, Government of Uttarakhand Mr. Deepankur Joshi, Coordinator School of Law, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, (Nainital). UNIT WRITING UNIT WRITERS UNIT [1] Dr. Razit Sharma, Assistant Professor, Unit- 1,2,3,4 Law College, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun Uttarakhand [2] Ms. Sapna Agarwal, Advocate High Court of Uttarakhand, Unit- 5,6,7 Nainital [3 Mr. Rajeev Bhatt, Advocate High Court of Uttarakhand, Ex. RTI Advisor Kumaun University Nainital, Ex. Assistant Professor Unity Unit- 8 ,9,10 Law College Rudrapur [4] Dr. Sushim Shukla, Assistant Professor, Unit- 11, 12, 13 Law College, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun Uttarakhand EDITOR Mr. Deepankur Joshi, Coordinator, School of Law, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, (Nainital) Copyright © Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, Nainital Edition- 2018, Pre Publication copy for Limited Circulation ISBN- Publication- Directorate of Studies and Publication, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, Nainital. E- Mail: [email protected] . Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [3] POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN CYBER LAW CYL- 104 CYBERCRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBER SPACE INDEX S. NO. UNIT PAGE NO. 1 DEFINING CRIME 4 - 13 2 CRIME IN CONTEXT OF INTERNET-ACTUS REA/MENSREA 14 - 21 3 TYPES OF CRIME IN INTERNET 22 - 31 4 COMPUTING DAMAGE IN INTERNET CRIME 32 - 41 5 FRAUD,HACKING,MISCHIEF 42 - 60 6 TRESPASS,DEFAMATION,STALKING,SPAM 61 - 91 7 PENALTIES AND OFFENCES UNDER IT ACT 92 - 146 8 ISSUES OF INTERNET GOVERNANCE 147 - 153 9 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN INTERNET 154 - 160 10 INTERNATIONAL POSITIONS ON FREE SPEECH IN INTERNET 161 - 168 11 THE SALES OF GOODS ACT 1930 169 - 175 12 THE SPECIFIC RELIEF ACT,1963 176 - 194 13 THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT,1986 195 - 205 Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [4] UNIT-1 DEFINING CRIME 1.1.INTRODUCTION 1.2.OBJECTIVES 1.3.STRUCTURE 1.3.1. DEFINING CRIME 1.3.2. CYBERSPACE 1.3.3. INTERNET 1.3.4. COMMUNICATION THROUGH INTERNET 1.3.5. CONCEPT OF CYBERCRIME 1.3.6. CYBERCRIMINALS 1.3.7. ORIGIN/DEVELOPMENT OF CYBERCRIME 1.3.8. NATURE AND SCOPE OF CYBER CRIME 1.3.9. CAUSES FOR INTERNET CRIMES 1.3.10. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CYBERCRIME AND TRADITIONAL CRIME 1.3.11. CLASSIFICATION OF CYBER CRIME 1.3.11.1 CRIME AGAINST INDIVIDUALS 1.3.11.2. CRIME AGAINST ORGANISATION 1.3.11.3 CRIME AGAINST SOCIETY 1.3.12. FREQUENTLY USED CYBERCRIMES 1.3.13. DIFFERENT CHANNELS OF CYBERCRIME 1.3.14. IMPACT OF CYBER CRIME 1.3.15. PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO COMBAT CYBERCRIME 1.4.SUMMARY 1.5.SAQS 1.6.REFERENCES 1.7.SUGGESTED READINGS 1.8. TERMINAL QUESTIONS AND MODEL QUESTIONS 1.1. INTRODUCTION Crime is a social and economic phenomenon which goes against legal obligations and certain moral sentiments developed in the history of human society. In ancient days any conduct Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [5] offending the interest or threatening the security of mankind was a crime. Crime is a dynamic concept which changes with social transformation. As the societies grow and with new and advanced science and technological developments new forms of crimes began to emerge. Present world is experiencing the growing importance of internet in every sphere of life. Undoubtedly, the crimes in cyberspace are also growing fast. This unit in specific discusses the introductory part of crimes committed thorough internet. 1.2. OBJECTIVES The study of the chapter will make students understand o The concept of crime o The Origin and Development of Cyber crime o Classifications of Cybercrime o Impact of Cybercrime and its challenges 1.3. STRUCTURE 1.3.1. Defining Crime The word crime is derived from a Latin word ‘Crimean’ which means ‘charge’ or ‘cry of distresses. It typically refers to an intellectual mistake or an offense against a society or an individual. Crime is an act which is deemed to be socially harmful, unacceptable and is punishable by law. This approach to the concept of crime changes according to the social, political, psychological and economic structure of a society. Several factors like sociological factors, psychological factors, circumstantial elements etc, influences the criminal activity of an individual or a group. Crimes are again of different types like monetary crime, Sexual crimes, Political crime and miscellaneous crimes. With the advent of science and technology crime also has completely taken a new dimension. It has grown to that extent that it is measured in hours and minutes rather than months and years. 1.3.2. Cyberspace Cyberspace is a term used to describe the virtual world of computers. William Gibson coined the term ‘Cyber space’ in his book “Neuromancer” in the year 1984. In simple words it can be stated that Cyberspace is an intricate environment that involves interactions between people, software, and services. This is in fact controlled by the worldwide distribution of information and communication technology devices and networks. Due to the advancements in technology and increase in networks and devices connected, the cyberspace today serves as a common platform for users from different fields that it has become difficult to define a clear boundary among the different groups. People involved in cyberspace, use of computers, Information technology and internet are known as ‘Netizens’. It is a word coined from the association of two words ‘Internet’ and ‘Citizen’. Cyberspace can be considered to be global village in the electronic world with instantaneous communication and no geographical boundaries. 1.3.3. Internet Due to the significant development of computer technology, the present generation cannot imagine a life without computers. They have invaded every aspect of life and the impact is that it has created challenge even to the fundamental principles of law. The administration of Internet is not in the hands of any individual, Government, Corporation or firm. It includes a Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [6] network of hundreds and thousands of computers connected to use common data transfer protocol or exchange of information with other computers. This series of networks of computers is called as “Internet”, which has the quality of rapidly transmitting communication. Information available at any link means information is available to all connected with that link and there is no individual to control all the information that is available in the Internet. 1.3.4. Communication through Internet In order to understand the legal issues involved one should have a thorough knowledge of the means of communication available to transfer through Internet. In general, there are three means available for a user to access Internet. (i) Direct Access- In this mode a user can be directly linked to the Internet without an intermediary. Generally, Government offices, Educational Institutions, Business establishments maintain a computer network linked directly. (ii) Service Providers- Here certain commercial entities provide Internet facility to general public in lieu of the fee paid, thus making a commercial use of the Internet. (iii) Commercial online Service- Here the commercial entities provides direct access to their own content, to the users of their service without any fee. Exchange of communication through Internet is done by different modes. 1. One to one communication (e.g. E-mail) 2. One to many communication (e.g. List server) 3. Sharing of information databases. (e.g. USENET) 4. Real Time Communication (e.g. Internet Relay Chat) 5. Real time remote computer utilization (e.g. Telnet) 6. Remote Information retrieval (e.g. World Wide Web) As Technology is growing at a faster pace, there are certain issues like security of transactions, privacy, protection of children against easy access to inappropriate contents etc. that has to address urgently with a strict legal regime. 1.3.5. Concept of Cybercrime Cybercrime is the term used to refer electronic offenses, e-crimes, white collar crimes etc. In other words, any illegal activity carried out with the help of computer, Internet or electronic gadget is called as ‘Cyber-crime’. The phenomenal growth of Internet has provided new panorama to the increase of computer related crimes. Here computer or the data itself is the target of offence or a tool to commit any offence. The term ‘Cybercrime’ or ‘Computer crime’ are the terms generally used and includes a wide range of activity ranging from unauthorised access to computer or the data stored in it, trafficking in passwords, transmission of pornographic material, selling pirated copies of software etc. Hence currently the term ‘Computer-Related crime’ is widely used. However, in a specific context, ‘Computer Crime’ is where the criminal has an expertise in computer technology. In ‘Cybercrime’ the perpetrators use their specialised knowledge and skills on cyberspace. A computer crime is defined by the US Department of Justice as “An illegal act requiring knowledge of computer technology for its perpetration, investigation or prosecution”. But the Uttarakhand Open University CYBER CRIMES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN CYBERSPACE CYL-104 [7] definition is not exhaustive and it can also be plainly defined as “Crimes directed at a computer or a computer system”.